Does anyone have experience with discospondylitis (also spelled diskospondylitis)? It's an infection of the spine often caused by foreign bodies. Well, 3 weeks ago our Vanya got into a porcupine and had 157 quills removed. The vet warned us that she couldn't get all the quills, so we should expect a few to migrate out of his face (they did).

But Tuesday night I came home from work and Vanya was in a lot of pain. He's 5 years old, normally extremely full of energy and enthusiasm. This evening, he whimpered when he ate, and then he kept falling over on his side when he tried to go outside. He did manage to poop, but then he lay on his side and looked miserable while I called the emergency vet for an appointment.

Long story short, she found this his spine was stiff and painful, and thought it was either a tick-borne disease or else a sprain. He tested negative for tick-borne diseases, so the vet gave him a shot of an anti-inflammatory and sent him home. Two days later, when Vanya still seemed in some pain, I mentioned this episode to my regular vet (6 hours away, alas), and she immediately told me to bring him back to the vet to have him checked for discospondylitis, which she says is the most common reason for spine pain in large male dogs (he's both). The treatment if caught early is simple: 6 to 8 weeks of antibiotics.

It's hard to diagnose, and the vet up here couldn't get him in for an x-ray for another 5 days. So I asked that he be put on antibiotics in the meantime, just in case. After 2 days of the antibiotics, he seems FAR, far better, back to his normal energetic self.

Now I'm not entirely sure how to proceed, since I'm not sure I trust this emergency vet. Ideas?

I've only seen one case of discospondylitis in 4 years (ok two, one was in a snake). Its pretty rare, but if your pup is improving on antibiotics, then I'd certainly recommend continuing them.

For spinal pain, I generally prescribe a LOT more than a single anti-inflammatory medication. Dogs are on a muscle relaxant, an NSAID, tramadol for additional pain, and strict rest for weeks. A single shot seems inadequate to me...

Why will it take 5 days to take x-rays? Even for the clinics in town that don't have a machine, we can squeeze them in within hours...

Interesting about the level of care you give for spinal pain. I think the vet was certain that it was tick-borne disease, because they're so common up here in tickland. When that didn't turn out to be the case, she didn't really want to follow up. His x-rays are Monday, a full 2 weeks after his spine episode. He's been on antibiotics most of that time, and he seems very lively again, so whatever it was seems to be controlled.